The Color Of The Sky
by Shefali12
Summary: It all began when James went down to the cellar to get a bottle of rum. Upon reaching, he was in for a huge surprise, for he found an unexpected visitor. What was to follow was trouble and chaos which eventually led to the beginning of a new story. One-shot. AU


**Disclaimer:- I own nada**

**A/N:- Just a really long one-shot.**

* * *

Even as the sky looked clear, a dull orange seemingly countered the blue which had been uniformly spread only moments ago. Today was different. Today was definitely different because unlike the days before, there was not a single cloud in sight. Clear skies weren't uncommon but they were also a thing of rarity when one had spent their entire life on a ship. The closest thing to cloudlessness was a scarce scattering of thin, hazy clouds.

For James, a cloudless night was a wonder.

He laughed with Sirius as the ship sailed farther away from Hogsmeade village. The village would soon become another bright speck in the distance.

"Alright, you wanker. Get me some rum and I may consider Avery the better fighter. Although, Igor did dominate…" Sirius was saying.

James grinned over his shoulder at his captain before treading down the stairs, leaving Sirius on the deck. The lack of mold on the walls was a testament of the ship being relatively new.

James turned right at the next corridor and continued down along the somewhat dimly lit passages until he reached the door of the cellar. It opened noisily, creaking at its hinges.

There in the corner stood the barrels of rum. James strode over to it and rummaged around the barrel for a bottle. His fingers had only just found the neck of the bottle when something moved. He froze, his other hand immediately jumped to his knife. He straightened, pulling out the knife.

As he narrowed his eyes, intently watching for another sign of movement, he saw that no life form was present in the room besides his own person. He sighed, ruffling his hair and chuckling softly at himself for being paranoid. He pulled out the bottle quickly and made to the door.

A sudden jerk pushed him towards the wall, taking him by surprise. He whirled around to face his own knife being pointed at him, then moving close to his throat. He was suddenly aware that he held nothing and the bottle lay on the floor, shattered.

James traced the knife to the slender hand clutching it, to the figure of a woman with dark red hair clinging to her sweaty face. His attacker panted slightly, keeping her expression rigid.

"Do as I say or…" she began, barely opening her mouth as she spoke. She had fair skin, startling green eyes and a fresh cut running down her cheek.

"Or what? Are _you_ going to kill me? Would you really even be able to reach me?" James smiled crookedly at her and she narrowed her eyes in response. He normally wouldn't have said this and he wasn't sure why he did this time.

_Great, Potter. Sass the one holding a knife to your throat. It's a wonder I'm still alive_, he thought to himself.

"Are you sure you want to find out?" the redhead raised an eyebrow in question, holding the knife a little closer to his neck. "Do as I say," she said serenely.

James clenched his jaw at the proximity of the weapon, growing uncomfortable. He nodded unconnectedly and after a long moment, she seemed satisfied by his answer. She brought one hand to his shoulder and roughly pulled him to the door, the hand with the knife now near his back.

Upon reaching the door, James swung it open and a great bang sounded as it hit the wall, shocking the redhead behind him. He took advantage of the brief second she needed to gather herself and twisted the knife out of her hand. She tried to reach for it but he held it away from her, catching her reaching hand to twist her around. He snaked his other hand through her free elbow. She struggled against his grip but he had the weapon and the upper hand.

Now James held the knife to her throat, waiting for her to quit struggling.

When she stopped, he spoke in undertone, "I don't take well to threats." He paused. "What's your name?"

She blew a stray lock of hair from her eyes, "What do you care?"

James smirked, "Well, I need something to call you by." He shrugged, his knuckles white around the hilt of the knife. "If you won't tell me, I suppose I'll just call you 'Stracus'."

"After the sea monster?" she exclaimed. "The _red_ sea monster? Oh, that's rich. Very original," she finished, scoffing.

"I wouldn't deride the person holding a knife to my throat, if I were you," was his only reply. Nonetheless, he was smiling for reasons unknown to him. He yelled rather loudly and a few people were soon appearing from the stairwell.

She was handcuffed and forced to follow James up to the deck where she was met by staggered, questioning stares, some more than others. She silently noted his messy hair sticking up from all angles as she followed him to two figured leaning over a faded paper cluttered with whitish-brown beads. The beads seemed to be falling off the paper.

Of the two, there was one man with a tired face and sandy-brown hair while his companion, a woman with striking orange hair stood a few inches shorter than. The one with a tired face and sandy-brown hair, stood a few inches taller than the other, looked up at James as he walked closer to them.

Upon noticing her, the man raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "James?" A smile crept to his lips, "Did you hide her when the rest of us weren't looking?"

James frowned. Ignoring his question, James said, "Someone call Sirius. The sooner we get this straightened out…" He trailed off, leaving them supposedly to look for the captain.

The one with the bright hair who had previously been studying the map, walked over to the redhead to introduce herself, "Well, I'd better get to it seeing as no one else will. I'm Nymphadora Tonks. But just 'Tonks' will do. In fact, it's preferred." She pointed to the man beside her, "That is Remus Lupin."

Something wasn't quite right about her expression. Tonks seemed pleasantly surprised at the new arrival but she looked perhaps a little suspicious. She subjected the redhead to an inquiring gaze.

"Lily, erm, Evans. Lily's fine," Lily said in as impassive a tone as she could muster.

"Evans, eh? Can't say I've ever heard of the name," Remus commented, prompting her to provide an explanation but Lily did nothing of the sort.

There was an awkward pause, a terse silence, eventually broken by Tonks, "Initial meetings with James Potter can leave a bitter aftertaste. I don't imagine your first impression of him being a good one."

Lily bit her lip but didn't answer.

Remus exchanged a glance edgewise with Tonks before he cut in. His expression grew solemn as he breathed in heavily, "When exactly did you board the ship?"

Lily merely returned his gaze with a defiant one.

"Alright," Tonks sighed. She absentmindedly fidgeted with the beads on the map. "Why did you board the ship?"

Again, there was no answer. Lily was more focused on the paper than their questions.

"I guess we might as well wait for Black to arrive then," Tonks said as she rounded the table to assume her original position beside Remus.

Lily fiddled with the idea of asking, thinking it unwise. However, curiosity got the better of her because after all, the two were studying a blank paper with a splattering of beads.

"What is this?" she asked in a small voice. Her hands itched beneath the handcuffs.

Remus thought for a long while before answering and he still wasn't sure it was the right thing to do considering he had known her for less than fifteen minutes. "A map of sorts."

"A map?" Lily inquired skeptically. "Is that all it is? By the looks of it, it seems more like old, weathered paper." If she waited for further explanation, she was severely disappointed.

Remus retorted without looking up at her face, "You can't honestly expect us to indulge you when you couldn't be bothered to tell us the bare minimum about yourself."

Tonks rested an arm on her waist; her hair seemed to grow dark. "Let's try this again. Lily, why are you here?"

"That's an excellent question. So many of us are anxious for the answer," James' voice was heard as he appeared, trailed closely by Sirius. They pushed through the forming crowd towards Lily.

Lily glared but she knew she had to provide an answer, "I reckon you've heard of Rabastan Lestrange." The eerie calmness in her voice surprised her as well.

An odd look appeared on James' face as he observed her. He thought he detected a bit of fear or perhaps it was something else. She did her best to ignore him.

The man behind James spoke up. He was taller and had longer hair falling over his grey eyes with casual grace. "We'd be thick not to. What's your business with him?" Without waiting for a reply, he turned to Remus and Tonks, "What did she say about herself?"

"Name's Lily Evans. That's pretty much all we know," Tonks answered, straight-faced.

Remus added, "Sirius, we know most of the crewmembers from Lestrange's ship. If she was indeed a part of his crew, we would have heard of her. Hell, we know the cook's name."

Sirius contemplatively turned back to Lily. His fist was resting on his sword and even though he looked at her, Lily thought his focus was on something other than her, "What have you got to do Lestrange?"

Lily couldn't decide whether it was alright to divulge the information. But what had she to lose? Her best bet was to enlist their help if they so wished to provide it.

Sirius went on, bringing his focus back to her, "Generally, having any business with Lestrange is a foolish move. Most people tend to be disliked by him and there is no such standing as inoffensive. He either likes you or hates you. Either way, getting involved with Rabastan Lestrange is a bad move. Now, you probably wouldn't be here if you were on good terms with him which obviously leads me to the conclusion that you're running from him." He shot her a piercing look as if to say that there was no alternative but for her to answer truthfully. "What is your deal with him?"

"I, uh, I'm not a part of his crew, nor have I ever been," Lily said slowly, carefully. She twisted her wrist beneath the handcuffs uneasily. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "I am not a pirate. On the contrary, actually. I…steal from pirates."

To her surprise, a grudgingly admiring grin appeared on James' lips. In fact, many of the members regarded her with disbelief while other with admiration.

"You stole from the wrong person," Tonks gasped, her eyebrows raised, a smile tugging at her lips. "You stole from Rabastan Lestrange. H-how?"

"I, um, overheard one of his crewmates mouthing off about an invaluable treasure on their ship in Brimstreade village. He said that the ship was docked on the offside of the bay. So, I followed him back. He, however, got to work on the deck, so I snuck below."

There was perfect silence and Lily commanded the utmost, undivided attention. The dropping of a nail could have been heard.

Lily surveyed their expressions before she went on, "For a while I searched. Then, I found a room locked eight times over."

James snorted, "Subtle. Of course, trust Lestrange to hide his treasure pathetically."

Lily smiled down at her handcuffs, "It took me some time to pick the locks but it happened…eventually. There was a small box on the table, the only furniture in an otherwise bare room. I figured that had to be it. I was stunned to find that inside the box was a locket."

"A locket?" a voice she didn't recognize spoke. She turned to the owner, a stout man with mousy blonde hair and eyes wide as saucers. His name she would later learn was Peter.

Lily nodded with pursed lips.

"Did you take it?" Tonks posed, her face a mask of curiosity mingled with excitement.

"At first I thought that the man in the village had merely been boasting…but I wasn't about to take the chance. Supposing it wasn't all that valuable, no one would miss it. On the other hand, it could have been priceless and if I left it, I might as well have surrendered away a fortune," Lily replied, earnestly.

"You took it," Remus breathed, his voice was loud and clear in contrast to the silence.

Lily nodded in response, "I did. On my way out, I found him."

"Him?" James questioned instantly. "Him being Lestrange?" He couldn't identify the feeling clawing at his insides.

Sirius looked torn between looking at his first mate and the intruder on his ship.

"I heard him arguing about the locket. He said it was '_his_' most prized possession and having lowly crewmates knowing about it was unacceptable. I was almost frozen when I found out whose ship it was. So, I ran. But I knocked over a torch and that possibly gave me away because there were soon people behind me. Someone else raised an alarm. Up on the deck, I got a good look at Lestrange. He was furious. I suppose he had noticed the locket was missing."

"But you got out?" Tonks breathed. She only then realized she had been holding her breath.

"Go on," Sirius prompted with urgency.

"It all happened quite quickly. I released the escape boat and jumped on it but he threw something at me." Lily brought her hands to the scar on her cheek. She touched it gingerly. It stung upon contact. "He threw a glass shard at me, I think. Next thing I remember is waking up near Hogsmeade. That's when I snuck onto your ship."

Lily dropped her arms and Sirius mutely moved forward. He took the key from one of the pirates standing near her and released her from the restraints. She turned her wrists in circles, now that they were given the freedom to move so.

"He's looking for you, isn't he?" Sirius said, handing the handcuffs and key over to another pirate.

James walked to the railing and leaned against it. "He'll find you. He always does. He may not even be alone when he does and if that happens, then…." he trailed off. "You might have led him to all of us."

Lily couldn't read his expression. He didn't seem angry, nor too thrilled but maybe a little.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Sirius asked pointblank.

Lily faltered. She should have been expecting that question. It was strange to assume they might help her. Strange and wishful. "I-I need…"

"Help?" James interjected. "Well, that's fairly obvious."

Sirius looked over her shoulder, squinting into the distance. "Potter, steer the ship. We're going to speed up."

"Wha-at?" James' confidence dropped.

Sirius relayed all he needed to in a single glance. James, without another word, went to the helm. Remus disappeared up the stairwell. And Sirius shouted order after order. The ship increased momentum. The silence which had been prominent only moments ago felt like something of a dream.

Lily, wide-eyed, followed Sirius' gaze to a black dot. With every passing second it seemed to grow tremendously in size until she was sure it was a ship. And not just any ship.

Remus appeared clutching his fist. He strode over to Tonks and threw whitish-brown beads on the map. Lily hurried closer.

Lily hadn't had a chance to phrase her question before Tonks had replied in a business-like tone staring undeviatingly at the map, "The beads are given off by Flamel sandstones. And the map," she looked up, grinning, "a wondrous thing. The beads rearrange themselves indicating the position of every person on this ship. See the names below each one." Tonks pointed to three clusters, "That's us. Take a step back and see that it will move with you."

Lily moved back and to her amazement, the cluster of beads with her name rolled closer to her.

"Only downfall is that the beads don't maintain shape after a certain amount of time," with that Tonks returned to the map.

"Lily." Remus looked up at her. "I don't suppose you have a weapon." When she shook her head, he went on with a nod, "Ask James for a sword. I have a feeling you might need one."

"Does this mean you're going to help me?" Lily braced herself for a rejection.

"Sirius has a thing for challenges. Not the most suitable trait for the captain of a ship. He has, however, imparted a bit of that fixation to all of us. If you want to defy Lestrange, you can't very well expect us to watch from the sidelines."

Lily felt herself smile. She exuded a soft utterance of gratitude and went to do as told. She stalked to James. He knew who it was before she spoke up.

"Steer for me." James stepped back as she took over. He vanished and appeared with two swords. He handed her one with a smirk.

She was befuddled by his smirk. This wasn't the time to be grinning at her but he did anyway.

"What?" Lily asked innocently.

It was chaos. Complete and utter chaos. People were running around the deck. Some worked by the railing, pulling at the lines. Amidst this mess, Sirius Black stood with his voice easily overpowering any others. Someone yelled 'starboard' and the ship took a violent turn.

Lily caught hold of the mast to steady herself and James retracted one arm when she was balanced on her feet. He shook his head and his smile grew a feat she didn't know was possible.

"This probably isn't the best time to bring it up," Lily scratched her elbow.

James spared her a glance and she went on, "You know what, later is good."

A volley of emotions flickered past his eyes. She was unlike any other. James admired a few traits more than other and it seemed like two of them were her most defining characteristics. Lily was brave and bright. She wasn't anything like anyone he had ever met.

Lily quietly tried to decipher the expression on his face.

A loud cracking sound shook her out of her reverie. One of the hulls broke and fell, shaking the ship. They were violently thrown. James caught Lily, keeping one hand on the helm and used it to steady himself and Lily. He noted that the skies were cloudy. Cloudless skies were after all, a rarity.

A tremor threatened to overturn the ship.

The loud sounds of the crashing of waves were drowned out when a hulking, enormous figure rose from the water. Water raucously fell on the ship, drenching it in the process. Another tremor and Lily found herself on the floor, much like the other members onboard. She pulled herself to the nearest mast and turned to help James. He lay gasping beside her.

There was a final tremor and the enormous figure they learnt was a ship. Lestrange's ship had emerged out of the water, breaking a part of theirs.

The people on deck stood up slowly, sopping and shivering.

James cussed. He hastily pulled a cloth from his pocket and had Lily tuck her hair under it. "What better way to hide someone than in plain sight?"

Lily hastily shoved her hair under the cloth. When she was done she saw that all the pirates onboard were standing with swords at the ready. She unsheathed her sword.

A canon fired at the sky covering it with greenish mist. The mist seemed to swirl to form the shape of something slithering.

"Any minute now," James was muttering under his breath. He wasn't aware that Lily could hear every word.

Another canon fired and several figures from the next ship seemed to climb up ropes that she now realized were attached to the mast of their ship. The pirates from Lestrange's ship swung across landing on the deck. The one person that Lily had no trouble recognizing was Rabastan Lestrange. The man was renowned for having killed his brother in cold-blood to gain captaincy over The Chained Meda.

James left Lily where she stood to stand by Sirius. Rabastan Lestrange approached him as well having been informed by one of Sirius' crewmates.

Lily moved to follow James but a hand clasped around her wrist. One of the pirates shook his head at her and she took on an impassive mask, remaining where stood where she was.

"He knows what he's doing," the pirate informed her. He had a mousy face and small, flat nose.

Lily looked unconvinced.

To answer, he smiled somewhat, "Trust me. The name's Reginald Cattermole. If I'm lying, you have my name and you can come hunt me down later." He took her hand and tugged her back.

Rabastan Lestrange had sneering lips, black eyes, pale skin and a hoarse, grumbling voice. His dark hair was soaked and sticking to his face. He walked with a slight limp and one hand on the hilt of his sword. A few of his fingers were bandaged. His nails were ugly and filthy. He had a medium build and was slightly shorter than Sirius.

Rabastan Lestrange didn't seem like the kind of person who took kindly to being trifled with.

"We are in pursuit of a," his face grew loathsome like he had tasted something particularly bitter, "prying girl who has no idea what she has brought upon herself…"

"You damage my ship and potentially harm my crewmembers," Sirius said in a dangerously low voice. "What in the world do you really even expect from me?"

"I expect you to know who you're speaking to," Lestrange narrowed his eyes.

"I know perfectly well. But that doesn't answer my question," Sirius responded evenly. His arm seemed to twitch like he might at any moment draw his sword. Lily prayed Rabastan didn't see this.

Lestrange smiled, his sneer not completely gone, "Ships can be repaired. Give me what I want and I'll have your ship fixed in no time. Now, to business. I'm looking for a girl by the name Lily Evans."

"Why?" James questioned.

Rabastan didn't seem pleased at the ignorant interjection.

"She has something that belongs to me," Lestrange replied contemptuously. His voice was low and all the more portentous. "The sooner I catch her, the better…for everyone."

"What will you do once you find her?" James asked defiantly.

"That's not of your concern, is it?" Lestrange's eyes flashed.

"It is if I am to help you find her," Sirius replied, smooth and even.

Lily's breath hitched. She was overcome with disbelief and fear. Her hands trembled.

The sky grew darker, the green mist taking the unmistakable shape of a snake emerging from a skull.

"I will deal with her in whichever way I see fit," Lestrange said with finality. "She has red hair and to identify, I left a mark. There should be a cut on her cheek."

Lily almost inadvertently reached for the wound in question.

"Well, I can assure you that she isn't on this ship but you may go ahead and search if you like," Sirius said this with startling confidence.

"I'd like to be the judge of that," Lestrange replied.

Sirius took a long moment to consider this. He nodded roughly seconds later and Lily couldn't believe what was happening. She stood rooted to the ground in terror.

Lestrange called gruffly, "Mulciber!"

Mulciber emerged from the crowd, his rooting teeth on display. He was stout with a round face and a blackened eye. His hair was mussed, wet like every other person's there. He walked with his hulking arms swinging at his sides.

Lestrange ordered him to check every crewmember and he got to work without another question. Each one cooperated, albeit unhappily. When a soft murmur began to grow, Lestrange silenced it with a gunshot into the air.

Only when he had come unpromisingly near Lily, was the quietness disturbed. Mulciber examined Cattermole closely and moved to stand in front of Lily. A gunshot was fired but Lestrange hadn't been the one to fire it. Mulciber turned to the direction of the sound.

James closest to the perpetrator, marched to the stout boy, Peter. James made an angry show of snatching the gun and berating him.

"Pesky moron!" Sirius claimed, haughty and infuriated. "Not worth a galleon even."

Lestrange grumbled in a similar tone, eying Peter with resentment, "They never are."

Mulciber huffed. It may have been a snort but Lily couldn't be sure. Mulciber passed her and continued examining the crewmembers. When he had gone around all of them, he returned to Lestrange and submitted his finding.

Lestrange listened carefully and when Mulciber was finished, Lestrange told Sirius, "I suppose I should apologize for the inconvenience. As an apology, I will leave with you enough to have the ship repaired or if you should choose so, buy a new ship."

Sirius smiled, "I don't see the need for a new ship. And there's no need to donate galleons. We have sufficient funds to manage."

"Very well," Lestrange uttered, his eyes landing on Tonks and Remus. He strode over to the pair with Sirius and James watching his every step cautiously but he didn't see that. Lily noticed that Tonks' hair looked green now. Her hair seemed to reflect the color of the green mist over their heads.

Lestrange looked at the map and the array of formlessly scattered beads. He pushed one and it clung to a spot on the map. Remus' jaw tightened.

"Interesting. The Marauder's Map. An excellent find, of course," Lestrange smirked at Remus who returned a weak one. Lestrange grabbed a handful of beads in his fist. Tonks looked up at him frightfully.

"We're running a little low on the beads," Remus interrupted before Tonks could. His face was blank and the emotion in his voice was still harder to decipher. "We really ought to make a trip to Godric's Hollow."

"Hmm, be wise not to waste them." Lestrange almost handed over the handful of beads to Remus but at the last moment, he withdrew. "I've always wanted to see the Marauder's Map in action."

With that, Lestrange released the beads. They clattered onto the map and began forming clusters like footsteps with names.

"Brilliant, yeah?" Remus grinned, asking for Lestrange's attention. Lestrange regarded him with a smile of his own. He then looked back at the map, his eyes flitting quickly over the names.

"There we are," Tonks exclaimed, her voice shaking to an extent. She pointed to three names on the map and Lestrange smiled down at him. His smile froze and his eyes stopped moving. He assumed an ugly scowl.

He brushed away Tonks' hand brusquely.

Lily's heart was in her throat. She bit her lip apprehensively.

"Don't let it show," Cattermole whispered quickly. "Lily."

Lily looked back at him, her lips quivering and her hands trembling.

"You'll make it through this," he whispered after what felt like an eternity.

Lestrange's sneer reappeared. His hand immediately dropped to his sword and he unsheathed it. But James and Sirius were standing with their swords inches away from his back.

Lestrange's crew retrieved their swords. Within seconds, every man or woman seemed ready with swords raised.

"Don't even," a low grumble escaped Sirius' throat. It was nothing compared to the frightful noise that escaped Lestrange. Rabastan in a quick stint moved forward, whirled and faced James and Sirius with his own sword raised in response.

"You dare…" he began.

James jabbed, disallowing Lestrange to finish his remark. Lestrange dodged and caught James' sword with his own, creating a resounding clang.

"I dare," James said coldly.

That marked the beginning of the fight.

Remus and Tonks were soon involved in battles of their own. Lily helped Cattermole fend off a particularly large pirate wildly swinging two swords. Remus was then reoccupied with his own battle while Tonks got closer to Lily.

James withdrew momentarily as Lestrange's sword clashed against his own. He didn't have as much arm strength as Lestrange and this was clear to all three of them.

"Only cowards attack their enemies when their back is facing them," Lestrange seethed.

"The same kind that takes an army of pirates to hunt down one girl," Sirius shot back. He ducked and swung, catching Lestrange's wrist.

Lestrange yelled in pain, drops of blood falling to the wooden ground. He swung madly and left a cut on James' arm. James nearly dropped his sword.

Lestrange took advantage of the moment and disentangled the sword from his grip. The sword fell with a dull clang. Sirius tried to engage Lestrange in a duel so James could regain possession of his sword.

But Lestrange was far more skilled than the two of them when it came to swordsmanship. He slashed James, who was already clutching his arm, by the leg bringing him down. He turned to Sirius and dealt a powerful blow, nearly shaking the sword out of Sirius' grip.

"Two against one was never fair in the first place. All the more humiliating when the quantifiably greater side loses," Lestrange said with a conceited smirk.

Sirius dismissed his words and attacked while James scrambled to grasp his sword and return to standing on his own feet.

What Sirius saw in Lestrange's eyes was inimitable bloodlust. No matter what happened, no matter if they surrendered, Lestrange would never allow them to survive.

Lestrange, smirking, caught Sirius' sword before he twisted his own sword. Sirius' sword buckled and for a second, he lost control. Lestrange punched Sirius with his free hand, shoving him into the rail.

James tried to kick but in vain, for Lestrange dealt with him next.

Lily saw these events unfold from the corner of her eyes.

Lestrange disarmed James once more and pulled him up gruffly by the collar, nearly choking him. He brought up his sword to deal the final blow.

"Enough!" Lily's shrill voice traveled through the roars and yells of agony. She yanked the locket she had stolen off her neck. The locket hung limply from her fingers. "This is what you want!"

She knew she sounded a little desperate and if she had had any peace of mind to think, she might have questioned the extent and reason of her desperation.

All movement was ceased instantaneously. Lily wheezed as she held the chain higher. Tonks, who had been fighting a few feet over, pushed through the crowd and walked closer. Lily eyed her wearily as Tonks came to stand beside Lily, gun in hand.

"Let him go or the locket will be destroyed!" she declared with all the authority she could muster.

Tonks raised the gun to the locket, keeping her gaze on Lestrange. He was positively fuming.

"Let him go!" Tonks reiterated, fingering the trigger. The manic look on Tonks' face was astonishing.

Lestrange's grip loosened around James' collar ever so slightly.

It all happened very quickly. A cannonball was launched from the other ship directly at Tonks and Lily. The rest seemed like a haze. Lily and Tonks fell into the ocean, cold water freezing them to the bone.

It felt like she had been in the water for hours, helplessly waiting for someone. Spluttering and gasping, Lily emerged from the water. She swam to the nearest piece of floating wood and pulled herself up.

She heard the sound of a gunshot, dreadfully imagining the excess of possible victims. Her hair was heavy and her clothes threatened to drag her back down. Hot tears slid down her freezing cheeks.

She jerked when she felt a hand on the small of her back. She whirled around to see Sirius miserably pull himself up on the log. Once up, he helped her aboard.

The water was pitch-black, mimicking the color of the skies.

"Where is Tonks?" Lily asked in between breaths.

Sirius shook his head, "No idea. I took this side and Potter is searching over there. If someone else hasn't pulled her out of the wreckage, he should find her."

Sirius was drained of color. His hands were becoming bloody. That's when Lily noticed the cuts. Sirius turned to the water and spat blood into it.

"Sirius, are you okay?"

"No. But that doesn't matter right now." He slid a little, floating with the wave.

"Who fired just now?" Lily wheezed, gulping down air.

Sirius grew still. "I saw Remus shoot at Lestrange and fall into the water with him."

Sirius didn't wait for Lily to answer or absorb the information. "I have to go help him. Wait here, Lily."

He entered the water again, gasping. He began to swim away from her. The waves provided resistance but he was undeterred. He surged forward with a newfound burst of energy.

Sirius arrived just in time to see Remus elbow Lestrange in the face as he struggled to break free from Lestrange's hold. Lestrange, although wounded, hadn't lost his strength. Sirius tried to swim faster but his legs were unwilling to cooperate.

Remus and Lestrange began to sink with Remus kicking with all the strength he could summon.

What happened then left Sirius stunned.

Reginald Cattermole jumped into the water, seemingly out of nowhere. He landed close to Remus and Lestrange. Swimming closer to the pair, Sirius noticed a glint of metal. Cattermole was gripping a knife.

Reginald managed to put himself between Lestrange and Remus with great effort, prying the two apart. He raised his hand and stabbed Lestrange. Faint smears of blood would have been seen if the water wasn't as dark as it was. Lestrange let out a roar of agony.

A struggle began between Cattermole and Lestrange. Lestrange gained as much as strength as he could, snatched the knife and did to Cattermole what had been done to him. The pair of them still struggled, though helplessly. They sank beneath the surface, lower and lower until the figures disappeared.

Sirius swam to Remus and pulled him towards the ship. The two waited for Cattermole emerge from the water but that didn't happen and it never would.

Above the fighting decreased with one side overpowering the other. More people were in the water than above on the deck, in any case.

Remus and Sirius waited for a long time and each second seemed to stretch on. Looking back, that period of time will only expand. They'll remember how they felt when the realization finally struck them. And in retelling the events, they'll falter at this part because saying it would seem like they were making it true.

"Reg's not coming back," Remus whispered listlessly, disbelievingly.

"He is. Any minute now, he'll be back," Sirius contended but neither believed a word he said. They continued staring at the spot where Cattermole and Lestrange had been.

The next thing either of them will ever remember is being back on the wrecked deck, sitting in terse silence beside a shivering James, Lily, Peter and Tonks.

"All of this over a locket," Tonks wheezed. She stared at her cold feet.

"There was something inside the locket," Lily uttered quietly. The waves were louder but they heard her clearly. "I felt something inside the locket."

"Now it lies at the bottom of the ocean," Peter kept his eye on the wooden floor.

"Just like Lestrange," James breathed, his hands were in fists.

"Do you think he'll…?" Tonks posed terribly. She hugged her knees closer to her chest. "He couldn't possibly survive that…could he?"

Lily wanted so badly to assure her of Lestrange's death but they had no tangible proof. He had been shot and stabbed but had still gone down fighting.

She scrambled to her feet sloppily. Wordlessly, she moved to stand by the railing. She felt someone's presence behind her.

James walked up beside her. He rested his hand close to hers on the railing.

"He's gone. Even if he does come back, we'll figure some way out. Whatever happens, we're probably facing death. But not alone," James looked at her tired face, glaring at the scar on her cheek.

"Was that supposed to be encouraging in any way?" Lily inquired a bit skeptically.

"No. I'm just saying it as it is. Lestrange was Riddle's man and Riddle won't forget his death anytime soon, assuming Lestrange is dead. However, if Lestrange is alive, he'll come back for us. Either way we're doomed." Not a single emotion remained on James' face.

"Yeah. You really are a downer during unpleasant situations. This is where you're supposed to say something to cheer us up," Lily teased awfully. She couldn't bring herself to smile.

James dismissed her question with one of his own, "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know," Lily answered honestly.

"You…" James stared into the water, "…could join us. It won't be safe especially considering, you know… But you could."

Lily licked her lips, contemplating the prospect, "I'd like to. Would you…I mean, we'll see each other everyday, which in retrospect isn't a brilliant idea. I mean, since we get on each other's nerves."

James smiled, close-lipped, "Yeah, there's that. We could give it a try. It's awfully boring on sea. It might not be so bad to have someone to fight…I-I don't actually want that."

"Neither do I," Lily inputted. Her earnestness astounded her.

They let a quiet interlude fill in.

"I-uh…We should probably get back to the rest," James suggested lamely, mentally kicking himself. "Lily." She raised an eyebrow at him, waiting. "I'm glad you're here."

Lily smiled deeply. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt his arms wrap around her tightly.

"Yeah, so am I," she replied and they held the embrace for a few more seconds until they pulled apart and returned to the group.

That was only the beginning of a long, unforgettable story. James and Lily would look back upon this moment and acknowledge it the start.

* * *

**A/N:- Inspired by One Piece and Pirates of the Caribbean, obviously. Thanks for reading and as always, reviews are much appreciated. **


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